


Nervous

by celestaeil



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, also johnyong because there's not enough in the world, but really good at ice skating, cycling incidents, doyoung is a nervous wreck, inspired by the shawn mendes song, taeil and binnie are canon now, ten is a smol soft emo boi, they can adopt me, too bad he's terrible at riding a bike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22910704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestaeil/pseuds/celestaeil
Summary: "I get a little self-conscious"After two Christmas parties and cycling into various stationary objects, Dongyoung concluded that Chittaphon was the reason he was nervous.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Nervous

**Author's Note:**

> 'Nervous' also published on Wattpad under taellipses.

Kim Dongyoung was sweating.

He was standing there on a Sunday afternoon in a cafe, and he was sweating. It wasn't even warm in there; it was Autumn and the leaves had just begun to fall outside. His palms were clammy. He wiped them on his jeans and pushed his round glasses up his nose.

"Doyo?" his friend questioned, glancing up at him. "Dongyoung?"

"Y-yes," he stammered, blinking.

The boy across the cafe who had met his gaze and held it this whole time, smirked. He had jet-black hair, a dozen rings sparkling on his ears and wore a black hoodie. He was sitting at a round table with another boy whose name was Seo Youngho, but Dongyoung barely noticed him. It was the black-haired boy who was making him nervous, and all they were doing was looking at each other.

"Come on," Dongyoung's friend muttered, tugging on the taller's sleeve.

Dongyoung blindly followed the shorter to another table, sitting down with his arms resting on the smooth surface.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Tae," Dongyoung mumbled, having finally dragged his gaze away from the black-haired boy. He pushed his glasses up his nose (they were slipping down, again) and stared at the table. He was having such an intense one-way staring contest with the table that he didn't hear his friend Taeyong speak, (again).

"Earth to Dongyoung," the blond sang teasingly.

"Sorry. What?" Dongyoung questioned.

"I asked what coffee you want," Taeyong said, moving his too-long pale blond fringe out of his eyes. Then he grinned. "Ha! Trick question - I know you hate coffee."

Dongyoung threw him a look.

"Anyway..." Taeyong said, dragging out the word. "What do you want?"

"Is it my turn to pay?" the bespectacled boy asked, wrinkling his nose.

Taeyong gave a sunny smile, nodding. "I want a caramel macchiato."

"Always so expensive," Dongyoung grumbled. "I'm having milk tea, like always."

"Watermelon," the blond guessed.

"Honeydew," Dongyoung corrected, getting up from his seat and taking his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans.

He walked towards the counter, his gaze drawn to that small black-haired male sitting at the table nearby. The man in question had thrown his head back with a loud laugh, his teeth showing in a wide grin. He slapped his friend on the arm, who protested greatly, shaking his head. He tugged on the cords of his black hoodie, glancing round to find Dongyoung staring at him again.

And Dongyoung tripped over his lanky legs, managing to catch himself just in time. he went up to the counter, cheeks aflame. He was too busy being embarrassed to notice the way Taeyong was stealing glances at the table seo Youngho and the black-haired boy were sitting at.

"One caramel macchiato and one honeydew milk tea, please," he stammered, frowning as his face burned red. He paid for the drinks and took them back to the table, where Taeyong was absorbed in his phone. "Here, Tae," Dongyoung grunted, putting the drink down in front of him.

"Thank you," he replied, smiling.

"You're only that happy because I paid for it," Dongyoung grumbled, sitting down and sipping his own drink. "Who are you texting?"

"Just someone," Taeyong said, his smile turning playful.

"Okay," Dongyoung said with a shrug, his eyes catching the black-haired guy's gaze. It was the smaller one who had been staring at him that time.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

***

Dongyoung prided himself on being an excellent cyclist; he had first learned to ride his tiny kiddie bike when his dad had taken the stabilizers off and little Dongyoung had gone hurtling down a steep hill.

He had been fortunate not to break any bones, and instead came out if the incident being overly confident on his bike. Confidence in cycling had unfortunately been the only form of confidence to extend to his college years, and he took his yellow bike almost everywhere. Biking it also meant that he could feel smug when Taeyong complained about bus fares and crowded public transport. Taeyong would whine, 'why do I have to take the bus like a peasant?'

Now Dongyoung was on his way to meet Taeyong for lunch after his lecture at their favourite restaurant and he was riding his yellow bicycle through town, hazelnut hair swept back by the wind. He took one hand off the handlebars to push his round glasses up his nose, grabbing at the handlebars again to slow to a stop at a red light. He soon set off again, mounting the pavement, which was fairly empty. He smiled as he spotted his favourite restaurant on the other side of the road, spotting also the crossing just a few metres away.

His gaze drifted to a small, black haired figure in a black hoodie and when that small, black haired figure turned his face towards Dongyoung mid-smile, Dongyoung managed to cycle straight into a wall.

A fucking wall.

The lanky guy gave a groan as he impacted the ground, the force of the wall stopping his bike sending him sideways, the bike on top of him.

"Oh my god," he grumbled, whimpering a little as he felt something wet and sticky run down the side of his face. He could smell metal and the only sound he heard besides the ringing in his ears was the noise of one bicycle wheel spinning aimlessly.

Dongyoung picked himself up off the ground, caressed a new dent in the frame of his precious bike, dabbed at the open wound on his forehead with his sweater sleeve and went on his way with as much grace he could manage. He didn't know if the black-haired boy had seen him or not (he really hoped he hadn't) as Dongyoung didn't have the nerve to look back.

And when Taeyong was staring at him in horror, he made him say nothing about the whole ordeal.

***

Taeyong had helpfully informed Dongyoung of the fact that it was Christmas in two weeks, a fact that Dongyoung could not have avoided (their favourite restaurant was decked out in so much horrendously cheap tat that Dongyoung was almost expecting to find red and green glitter in his spaghetti). And, of course, Taeyong had been invited to not one, but two Christmas house parties. (Although doyoung was pretty sure at least one of the parties was just using Christmas as an excuse to get drunk with friends.)

Now Dongyoung wasn't really a fan of parties, but Taeyong had managed to convince him to go with him. To the first one, at least, he had agreed. He had long since outgrown the feelings of excitement when Christmas came around, since he had abandoned the idea of having someone special anytime soon that he would even remotely want to spend the day with. Of course, he would probably go home to spend the week with his parents. but then again, Dongyoung had spent two christmases with Taeyong's family instead because his parents had decided to book an expensive foreign holiday over Christmas and his "studies were too important" so he didn't get to go, too.

"But, why?" Dongyoung had whined about the first house party Taeyong had brought up (he was just rolling his eyes at the mention of the second, not knowing how his best friend had managed to convince him to go). "Who's going to be there who's so special?"

Taeyong's eyes sparkled. "Just someone."

"The same someone you've been texting 24/7 for the past week?"

The blond grinned. "Just someone."

Dongyoung rolled his eyes. "Fine, then," he grumbled, "Don't tell me then."

"You still didn't tell me what possessed you to cycle into an actual wall," Taeyong pointed out.

The taller gave him a shove. "I told you I got distracted for a second and didn't pay attention to where I was going. Just drop it already!"

"Doyo, the only thing that's dropped is you, when you crashed your bike into a fucking wall!" Taeyong screeched, jumping up from Dongyoung's sofa and running out of his reach.

"Shut up!"

"Can you two yell somewhere else," Dongyoung's roommate said in a monotone, looking up from his book. The short man sat in an armchair on the other side of the room, looking vaguely annoyed that his reading time had been disrupted.

"Sorry, Taeil," Taeyong said sheepishly, approaching the sofa again, and flinching when Dongyoung mimed striking out at him. "Hey, wanna come to a Christmas party?"

Taeil perked up a little. He placed down his book, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.

"Sure, sounds fun," he said with a grin.

"You have to come, now," said Taeyong, playfully poking Dongyoung's side.

The brown-haired guy threw himself back on the sofa and groaned. "I already agreed, leave me alone now. Go back to texting just someone."

The blond blushed and stifled a giggle. "Alright, but you two need to spruce this place up a bit, it looks far too dull."

"Dongyoung should buy some Christmas decorations," Taeil mused, back reading his book again. He chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. "They'll be on sale everywhere now."

"Good idea," said Taeyong, grinning widely. "go buy some, Dongyoung."

Dongyoung kept his eyes closed as he was sprawled ungracefully on the sofa. "Don't push it, Tae."

"Just saying, my apartment is clearly the most festive," Taeyong said proudly, the life-sized disturbingly realistic-looking reindeer having been placed strategically to startle anyone coming through the front door back at his own apartment. He was proud about a lot of things, including his ever-changing hair that caught the attention of many even though he preferred to talk to as few people as possible, his fashion that honestly no one else would be able to pull off, and that 'just someone' who he kept texting (not that he would tell anyone who it was).

"Yeah, yeah," Dongyoung mumbled. "I'll go tomorrow." he opened one eye. "Hey. Taeil, why can't you go?"

"I've got an assignment," he said distractedly.

"You're reading gothic horror," Dongyoung drawled.

"That's what my essay is on."

Dongyoung groaned again, Taeyong's laughter mocking him even after the blond left their apartment.

***

"we're getting a new housemate," Taeil told him the next morning.

"Oh, did someone finally answer the ad?" Dongyoung snorted as he stirred his tea.

"Yeah."

Dongyoung looked at Taeil when he paused, standing there in just his pyjama pants and carrying a new novel in one hand. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Dongyoung was constantly surprised by how compact and taut Taeil's chest and arms were, though his slightly squishy tummy was not much of a shock. He wasn't Dongyoung's type. Dongyoung had decided rather quickly that upon meeting the older and realising how similarly nerdy they were.

"It's a girl," Taeil said stiffly.

(and the fact that Taeil was straight.)

Dongyoung burst out laughing. "Not a problem for me mate, I like dick."

Taeil dropped his book on the floor. "Yes, well, she's coming over for coffee in a couple of hours."

The taller just sipped at his tea with a smirk, but Taeil quickly wiped it off his face with his next comment.

"At least I didn't bike it into a wall when I got distracted," he pointed out, irritatingly innocently, "Who did you see, Young-ah?"

"Shut up, Taeil."

Dongyoung took his tea and stalked to his bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him. His hair was still damp from his shower but he threw on a cardigan over his t-shirt and jeans, wrapping a striped scarf around his neck several times before heading out into the hallway to put on his shoes.

"Try not to bike it into any more walls," Taeil advised, and Dongyoung responded with an eye-roll before he tugged on a beanie and pulled his bike away from the wall, leaving the apartment.

He was lucky that the elevators in their apartment block were big enough for him to fit his bike inside and go down from floor ten to the busy streets below.

Dongyoung went first to the cafe, his and Taeyong's usual haunt since it was so near the university. He gave a small wave when he saw a couple of students from the math society doing homework over coffee. Soonyoung and Wonwoo were nice, but they were a couple and Dongyoung always felt like a third wheel around them. He approached the counter.

"Hey, what can I get you?" the girl asked brightly, gingery-blonde hair cropped to the chin, her badge reading Mihyun.

"Peach iced tea, please," he replied, pushing his round specs up. His signature drink was honeydew but he was feeling a little adventurous today. And doyoung was of the opinion that it was never too cold for iced tea (because it was clearly better iced). "Thanks," he said after paying for it and taking his tea outside. He took a sip before depositing it in the custom-made cup-holder on his bike, pedalling off down the street.

Credit for the 'legendary cup-holder' (as it was named by its creator) was due to Seo Youngho, who was sailing through an engineering degree and boasted being "good with his hands". The tall American-born man threw the best parties, was popular with men and women alike, and despite his strong stature, had some rumours surrounding him suggesting that he enjoyed being 'manhandled'. The man didn't deny this, but Dongyoung had heard enough stories about just how "good with his hands" Youngho was. How many of those stories were true, however, remained to be seen.

Besides, Youngho had been sitting with Taeyong and Dongyoung one day and heard the latter complaining about how he had nowhere to put his drink when he was on his bike. And thus, the legendary cup-holder was born.

When Dongyoung stopped at a red light, he took a sip from his milk tea, placing it back on the front of his bike. He pedalled off again, noting the street stalls on either side. He knew there would be plenty of Christmas stuff around here somewhere.

Unfortunately, he was correct.

He saw the black-haired boy standing at a crossing, wearing an oversized black denim jacket, leather pants and a choker around his pale neck.

And Dongyoung cycled straight into a christmas decorations stand, a bowlful of baubles tipping onto his head, bouncing off his skull and rolling everywhere on the ground. He shrieked as his bike toppled over, wincing as he was pelted with those infernal round tree decorations. He felt like such a fool. He'd all but forgotten the black-haired boy until he looked up, gasping, to see the small guy standing across the road, eyes wide and mouth open in shocked amusement.

Dongyoung wanted to cry.

"What happened to you?" Taeil asked as he came through the front door some time later.

The older man was sitting on the sofa with an unfamiliar girl, both holding a mug of tea. Dongyoung shook his head, hair a windswept mess, cheeks red with lingering embarrassment and a scrape on his chin. His jacket was stained from his milk tea and starting to smell, and he had returned home empty handed. Of course, he'd had to apologise several dozen times to the stall owner and help her set it back up again, not that she'd minded too much (she was too busy laughing, to be honest).

"Hi," said the girl on the sofa, smiling pleasantly. "You must be Dongyoung."

"Yeah," he croaked out. He cleared his throat. "are you the new housemate?"

"If you guys agree," she replied with a nod. "I'm Bae Yubin, nice to meet you, Dongyoung."

Dongyoung made a sound of reply but took off his shoes and shuffled through towards his room.

"You have a bauble stuck to your jacket," Yubin added, tucking her dark red hair behind her ear. "Feeling festive?"

"Fuck no," Dongyoung said exasperatedly, searching the string from his jacket and tossing the bauble to Yubin, who caught it one-handed.

"Huh," she remarked, resting a hand on the belt around her blue high-waisted boyfriend jeans, "How did it get stuck to your jacket, then?"

"Long story," Dongyoung muttered, hand in his chest. "This is all because I ordered a peach iced tea instead of a honeydew one."

"What the fuck, young-ah?" Taeil said, shaking his head. He placed the two mugs down on the coffee table. "Don't tell me you biked straight into a christmas stand."

The taller gave a heavy sigh. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That can happen," Yubin said simply, tossing the small shiny bauble towards Taeil, who fumbled to catch it (sadly he failed to catch it and had to scramble on the floor to retrieve it). "I don't ride my bike around the city anymore because I kept hitting lamp-posts, embarrassingly enough."

"You're staying," Dongyoung said stiffly, walking to his bedroom. "You can have her, Taeil," he added over his shoulder.

Taeil went bright red but nodded curtly. "looks like you can take the room," he said.

Yubin grinned. "fantastic."

And Taeil was almost as red as a tomato but Dongyoung was too busy drowning in his own sorrows to tease him about it.

***

"Taeyong, I'm not in the mood anymore," Dongyoung whined as his friend came into his room, wearing a red silk shirt and black choker, hair dyed red to match.

"Tough," he replied, shaking Dongyoung's ankle, "Come to the party or I won't buy you a christmas present."

"Jokes on you because I know you've already got me something," the brown-haired guy muttered, smirking when he saw Taeyong's annoyed look.

"Okay, you got me," Taeyong whined. He nudged Dongyoung's leg with his foot. "Please, come."

"Okay, fine," the taller grumbled.

"And wear something christmassy, at least," he added, raising his eyebrows as he left the room.

"That was easy," Taeil observed from the kitchen, where Yubin was doing his makeup. It had been less than a month, and Dongyoung was shocked at how close Taeil and Yubin had become. The number of times he had walked in on them animatedly discussing classic novels or watching a period drama together was unnerving. He hadn't even gotten so close to Taeil that quickly.

"You're looking hot," Taeyong said approvingly, as Taeil turned to face him.

"That's really gay," Dongyoung called from his room.

"Just stating the facts," Taeyong replied, and Taeil smiled nervously.

"Do I really look good?" he asked, unsure, "I never wear makeup."

"He never brushes his hair," Dongyoung informed, making Taeil glare in the direction of his housemate's bedroom. Dongyoung just snickered quietly from behind the half-closed door.

"You look good, really," Yubin said, putting her brushes down. She had styled her red hair in waves (Taeyong being excited to meet her as he had just dyed his hair red last week, and they were like matching twins), wearing a sequin crop-top, red flared pants and would add combat boots to her outfit later. Yubin had styled Taeil similar to herself, with subtle red-themed makeup and smoky black eyeliner, but the red on Taeil's lips had suddenly revealed how attractive he really was.

"shit," Taeil said as he was turned to face the mirror. "I'm hot?"

"Yeah," Taeyong laughed. "if I didn't have my eye on someone, I'd totally bang."

"How can you say that when I'm right here?" Taeil uttered, blushing through his makeup.

"Hey, you need to get changed," said Yubin, pulling the older man to stand up and pushing him in the direction of his bedroom.

"Okay, okay," Taeil said, disappearing into his room.

Dongyoung trudged out of his own room moments later, black slacks, skinny red tie and white button-down making him look classy as fuck. He'd gone formal since apparently Nakamoto Yuta was posh enough to enforce a dress code at his parties (not that Dongyoung had ever seen the guy's house). But he'd brushed his hair, cleaned his glasses and was entering the kitchen as Taeil came out of his own room.

"She did a good job, right?" Taeyong said with a grin, patting Yubin's back.

"You don't even look like Taeil," Dongyoung said blankly. Because Taeil had come out wearing an emerald green silk button down and black slacks. His tan skin was glowing, cheekbones catching the light.

"Um... thanks?" Taeil mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You really look great," Yubin said encouragingly, taking his hand and pulling him to sit down at the table.

Taeyong suddenly gave a groan and Dongyoung hoped he'd fallen ill and they'd be unable to go to the party (mean as that sounds, but Dongyoung was ready to do anything if it meant he could avoid all the social interaction tonight. This was unsurprising as most of his evening consisted of just himself, netflix and snacks, or watching a period drama with Taeil).

"what?" Taeil asked.

"This look would have been snatched if i still had white hair," Taeyong said mournfully.

"Well, it's better not to repeat anything that resulted in you giving Seo Youngho a black eye with your fucking Jack Frost staff," Dongyoung snorted, straightening his tie.

"Shut up," Taeyong growled, and Dongyoung narrowed his eyes at him. Taeyong had insisted Dongyoung never speak of young's halloween party again, but since the former refused to let go of Dongyoung's bicycle mishaps lately, he was feeling bitchier than usual.

"Anyway," Yubin said warily. "Tae and I are both the embodiment of Christmas today, so that's something."

"Yes, we're twinning!'' Taeyong said, brightening up. "It's like you were meant to be Taeil and Dongyoung's new housemate."

"Did you do Taeyong's makeup, too?" Dongyoung question, sinking down into the chair next to Taeil, or his hot housemate.

"I did my own makeup," he uttered, offended.

"Why am I not surprised," Dongyoung sighed.

"Glasses off, Dongyoung," said Yubin, picking up an eyeshadow palette. "I'm going to make you pretty, too."

***

"Holy shit, you never told me Yuta was rich!"

Taeyong smirked. "It never really came up," he replied, but was soon grinning when he caught sight of a man with strawberry blond hair who wore a sharp suit in deep red.

"Tae," the japanese man said with a smile, hugging him, "Glad you could make it. And brought your friends?"

"Yes, this is Dongyoung, who you've met," Taeyong said, pushing Dongyoung forward in a slightly too obvious way, "And these are his housemates, Taeil and Yubin."

"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Yuta and welcome to my home away from home," he said pleasantly. More cars were pulling up one by one, and music and laughter already emanated from the huge house. "But please, consider my home your home also for tonight."

"He's a smooth talker," Yubin murmured. "May we go inside?"

"Of course, be my guest," Yuta replied, turning to greet several people, one of which was Seo Youngho.

Dongyoung could have sworn he detected a blush on Taeyong's cheeks but he soon became too distracted by the short black-haired man standing next to Youngho and another guy who had brown hair. It was him. Dongyoung hoped to god that the man wouldn't remember him, but he knew it was hopeless even before the shorter caught sight of him, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Please, come inside," said Yuta, taking Dongyoung's arm and leading the way.

Youngho, Taeyong, and the two others followed behind, with Taeil and Yubin already having disappeared inside the house.

"I hope I can find you a drink to your taste?" said Yuta, taking a glass of wine from the table in the ornate hallway.

"Thanks," Dongyoung replied, smiling as he sipped the red liquid.

"Chittaphon, white wine for you, i assume?" Yuta added, addressing the black-haired man.

It was then that Dongyoung realised he had gone all this time not knowing the name of the man who made him freak out every time they crossed paths. But the exotic look about him, the beautiful smile; it made sense he was Thai and that made doyoung even more nervous. He didn't want there to be a language barrier between them if they ever did have to speak to each other, he would already be nervous enough without trying to come up with a coherent sentence in Thai-

"I'll change it up later, but white is excellent for now, thank you, Yuta," Chittaphon replied in perfect Korean, only a hint of a cute-sounding accent present.

Dongyoung didn't have anything to worry about, then. (That was a lie.)

"I should greet my other guests but, please, enjoy the evening," Yuta said, finally letting go of Doyoung's arm and heading back outside. He glanced over his shoulder and winked in Dongyoung's direction.

Dongyoung blushed, but he hoped it was the wine. Yuta wasn't his type.

Taeyong threw his friend a meaningful look, but Dongyoung ignored it. he didn't want to be part of any matchmaking scheme tonight. The redhead pulled Youngho back towards the small group of men, smiling as he approached Dongyoung. Chittaphon and the other guy stood nearby, already chatting.

"So, Youngho," Taeyong said, a flirtatious look in his eye, "This must be the exchange student i've heard so much about."

Youngho positively beamed. Taeyong's hand was already curled around his bicep and Dongyoung thought he couldn't be more obvious that he was flirting with the tall American. But he wasn't surprised with how good Youngho looked in his black suit and red bowtie. all these suit jackets were starting to make Dongyoung feel under-dressed.

"Yes, this is Chittaphon," Youngho introduced. "Ten, meet Taeyong," he said, a blush crossing his cheeks (oh, here we go - another of Taeyong's victims, Dongyoung thought), "and this is Dongyoung."

"Hi," Dongyoung said awkwardly, and Dongyoung wanted to kick himself.

"Ten?" Taeyong asked curiously.

"It's a nickname;" Chittaphon explained, moving a stray lock of jet black hair out of his eyes, "People do say i'm a ten out of ten." he smiled, as if he knew how cheesy the joke was but still told it every time.

"They're not wrong," Taeyong said, eyeing chittaphon's choice of black fitted slacks and a black silk shirt, thin diamond choker to top it all off.

"That's pretty gay," said the brunette, drawing Dongyoung's attention to him. he wasn't the tallest, but he certainly worked out and filled out the white shirt and dark red slacks he had gone for that evening. Sleeves already folded up past the elbow and brown hair pushed back from her forehead, anyone would say he was handsome. But to Dongyoung, he seemed ordinary. Anyone would seem ordinary next to Chittaphon.

"You're just stating facts, Jaehyun," Taeyong laughed. "Anyway, let's go into the living room, we're standing here in a draft."

"You won't be cold tonight," said Youngho, wrapping an arm around the smaller man.

Dongyoung found himself standing next to the fireplace surrounded by the other four guys, who were all talking about university and work. Youngho was complaining about his engineering project group and how annoying his group members all were, and then Jaehyun was discussing his psychology thesis ideas. Taeyong listened attentively and only unlatched himself from Youngho to keep everyone topped up with drinks. Dongyoung's heart was pounding out a marathon but with each glass of wine he was slowly unwinding.

Music was playing in the next room and Dongyoung made the occasional input into the conversation, mostly just pinching the canapés from the table which was happily situated to his right. Taeil and Yubin had been mixing with other english majors, taking up a storm with two girls named Mihyun and Seunghee on the other side of the room. And Taeil was becoming less awkward and more relaxed as he accepted another glass of wine from Yubin, but Dongyoung decided Taeil's lightweightness would not be his problem tonight.

"What do you think, Dongyoung?"

"What?" he uttered, tearing his gaze away from Taeil and those girls, back to Taeyong who had clearly posed a question.

"I was asking if you think Chittaphon should stay another semester," Taeyong repeated.

"I mean, sure," Dongyoung replied with a shrug. he pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'd love to get to know you better."

The small part of Dongyoung that was stone cold sober was shrieking inside his head. What had possessed him to say that? He smiled awkwardly, the drunk part of him assuring that everything was okay. Everything was not okay.

"I'd like to get to know you, too," Chittaphon almost purred, peering up at him through dark lashes. "Are you always this quiet, Dongyoung?"

"He usually never shuts up," Taeyong giggled. Dongyoung threw him a look.

"Wanna dance, baby?" Youngho asked, his hand dropping to Taeyong's waist.

"Okay," Taeyong replied, and they went into the next room.

"They're gonna have fucked by the end of the night," Jaehyun said bluntly, reaching for a mini sausage roll.

"This one looks like such a good boy," Chittaphon tutted, "but he's got such a dirty mouth."

Jaehyun grinned. "Just stating the facts." He asked Chittaphon something about his classes and Dongyoung zoned out again. 

He wanted to leave the situation but he couldn't just run off. He still felt somewhat responsible for Taeil, and even Taeyong. After weighing up the options, he walked over to Taeil, squeezing in beside him.

"Oh, hey, Dongyoung!" Taeil said, the wine acting like liquid happiness. "We were discussing whether Frankenstein or Notre Dame makes more of a philosophical statement about humanity."

"You know what, I'm gonna go outside," said Dongyoung, shaking his head as some attempt to clear it.

"Okay, I think there's a pool. Don't drown!" Taeil called after him.

Dongyoung grabbed another glass of wine as he walked through the house until he reached the back garden, which was really way too much land to be called a backyard. Couples and small groups of people hung out on the lawn, and by the pool, with those typical jock assholes splashing water at the girls who were clad in far too little clothing for december. The brown-haired man wandered to a swinging bench and sat down on it, the coldness of the metal seeping through his black slacks. He sipped at the wine. It was cold, but it warmed his insides and his mind went straight to how good Chittaphon looked tonight.

"Hello, Mr Shy," said a soft voice, and Dongyoung nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw Chittaphon in front of him. He thought his heart might jump out of his very chest as Chittaphon decided to sit down on the bench beside him. "Chilly," he commented, scooting closer to Dongyoung. "Hey, you seem nervous. It's not because of me, is it?"

Dongyoung wet his lips with his tongue and shook his head, trying his best to smile naturally.

"Would you like to dance?" Chittaphon asked, leaning closer.

Dongyoung could feel the heat coming off the smaller man.

"I'm not very good," he mumbled, or was he slurring already?

"Everyone's too drunk to care, dear," Chittaphon said softly, standing up.

He leaned down, pressed a kiss to Dongyoung's cheek, and the rest of the night was a blur.

***

When Dongyoung came to the next morning, it was like a tiny elf was inside his skull, tapping incessantly with a fucking hammer. Merry Christmas.

Dongyoung groaned. He felt sweaty, and hot all over. He could feel the daylight burning through his lids so he refused to open them. He seemed to be intact, but his body ached from excessive terrible dancing. He remembered that much, and gagged. Then he had to run to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl, groggily wiping his mouth with his tie, which was somehow still around his neck.

"You okay, Dongyoung?" Taeil called sleepily from (Dongyoung thought) his bedroom.

Dongyoung groaned and trudged through the living room, stopping to close the curtains but he gave a whine when he had to raise his arms to do so. He rubbed his eyes and wished his head would stop throbbing so much as he went towards Taeil's bedroom, expecting to find his housemate curled up on his bed. But the open door revealed the bed made and empty.

"Taeil?" he mumbled. Dongyoung struggled to remember what happened last night. It would be useful if he could remember, he mused as he ran his fingers over the pale column of his neck. "Ow!" he muttered in surprise, as his fingers pressed a spot on the side of his neck. "Wait, what the fuck?"

Dongyoung was suddenly awake as he rushed to the mirror in the hallway, eyes wide as he inspected his neck. He could see five dark red marks that were starting to turn purple.

"No, no, no," he chanted, blinking aggressively as if that would somehow make the marks disappear. the hickeys. Dongyoung gagged again. Who had he been kissing? And who had made those marks on him!?

His eyes widened again as a fuzzy memory came back to him.

Chittaphon had kissed his cheek, practically purring as he asked him if he wanted to dance. And Dongyoung had been drunk enough to agree, with the shorter man wrapping a hand around his bicep and leading him inside the house. The thumping music drowned out any anxious thoughts and another glass of wine removed Dongyoung of his inhibitions completely.

He watched himself go bright red, groaning and turning away from his reflection as he pressed his thin hands to his hot cheeks. He'd kissed Chittaphon. Dongyoung was slapped into sobriety by the image and feeling of the short man pressing his body against him and sucking on his neck, heat flooding to parts that Dongyoung would have rather avoided getting excited at that moment. He shook his head in disbelief as the events of last night slowly returned. He had been making out with Chittaphon, the smaller eager to hurry things along but Dongyoung was still nervous. The whole ordeal was rather overwhelming and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now.

"Taeil?" he called, wandering in the direction of Yubin's room. He tried to get his dick to calm down but his head was still full of thoughts of Chittaphon and his eyes, his mouth, his hands. Taeil's bedroom door was open and Dongyoung immediately regretted putting his glasses on. "Yep. gay," he uttered, putting his hands over his eyes, immediately turned off, "I'm totally gay. Massive twink. Yeah." 

Sure, she was his housemate, but Dongyoung never thought he would see her semi-naked. Seeing Taeil naked was already enough of a turn-off for him. (But not for Yubin, evidently.)

"Oh my god," Taeil stammered, beyond embarrassed. He threw the blanket over Yubin, who had woken up and realised that she had thrown her crop top out of the fucking window last night, yelling, "I don't need this kind of restraint!" She almost burst out laughing at the scene before her, but covered her chest as Taeil looked everywhere but at her.

"Sorry," she said, reaching to grab one of her shirts from the floor, pulling it over her head.

"Are we all decent?" Dongyoung asked, "Because I'm having a mild crisis."

Taeil almost fell out of Yubin's bed as he tried to put his feet on the floor, finding that his black slacks and underwear from last night had also disappeared mysteriously. He pulled his green shirt down to cover himself and sideways walked out of the room, muttering to himself.

"Hey, sorry you had to see that," Yubin apologised, as Dongyoung uncovered his eyes. She ran a finger under each eye, her makeup having smudged badly, and shook her head at the platform boots that were still laced up on her feet. "How the fuck did I keep my shoes on?"

"You guys didn't..." Dongyoung began, but gagged again.

"No," Yubin said. "We didn't. practically everything else, though. Things are going to be awkward now, aren't they?"

"They don't have to be," said Taeil, appearing beside Dongyoung in the doorway, in a fresh t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Okay, well," Yubin mumbled, as she fumbled to unlace her boots.

"'Cause I could take you on a date and we could do this properly," he said, blushing again.

The red-haired girl's eyes widened. "For real?"

"Yeah," Taeil said with a grin. "Unless, you don't want to?" his smile faltered a little.

"Don't be stupid," she said, kicking off her boots and padding over to him. "Of course I want to date you," she added, kissing his nose.

"Okay, then," he said sheepishly.

"Am I invisible?" Dongyoung was very close to screeching. "because I am having quite the dilemma, so once you two figure out your shit, I need your help."

"Why, what happened?" Taeil asked, sneaking his hand into Yubin's.

"Look at this,"Dongyoung uttered, pointing to his neck. "This. This happened."

"Woah, get some," said Yubin. "Who was it?"

"You two were clearly too busy doing... whatever you were doing," he said, narrowing his eyes at the pair of them, causing Taeil to blush even deeper, "To notice. but it was..." Dongyoung inhaled. "It was," he tried again, fanning his face.

"Who?" Taeil questioned.

"Chittaphon! the Thai exchange student who's friends with Youngho and Jaehyun," Dongyoung snapped.

"Kinda short, black hair, emo vibes?" said Yubin. "Mimi's friends with him."

"Yeah, him," Dongyoung exhaled.

"If you wanna talk about it," said Taeil, "Why not take a shower and I'll put the kettle on."

"Okay," the taller agreed, and swallowed a couple of painkillers before he went to clean himself of the sweat and alcohol and the feeling on Chittaphon's mouth on his skin.

"Okay, sit," said Yubin, pointing to the armchair. she was sitting next to Taeil, legs tucked underneath her, and his arm was loosely around his waist. Dongyoung couldn't process it, as Taeil seemed to be slow at everything, especially relationships. But then, he couldn't deny how perfect they were for each other. "Do you remember everything that happened?"

"Most of it?" Dongyoung replied, running a hand through his damp hair. he pushed his glasses up his nose. "After I came to talk to you guys, I went outside, and he came up to me. Asked if i wanted to dance, and kissed me on the cheek. So we went inside, and I remember Taeyong was all over that Youngho guy."

"Yeah, they left sometime after that," said Yubin. "Then, what?"

"Uh... we were just kissing, and then, like, making out," Dongyoung's voice squeaked. He cleared his throat. "Um, anyway. that was the first time we actually met, but I'd seen him before, and - shit - I get nervous around that guy. I guess the alcohol made me forget that, but still..." he shook his head. "I'm never drinking again."

His phone pinged with a text, and he looked around, confused.

"Oh, there's your boxers, Taeil," said Yubin, and Taeil rolled his eyes in embarrassment.

Dongyoung got up and nudged the material off his phone with his toe, picking up his phone. He blanched.

"He t-texted me?" he stammered.

From: ten-out-of-10  
u hungover? x

"What do I text back?" Dongyoung demanded, waving his phone.

"I don't know," Taeil said incredulously. "You usually talk to Taeyong about this stuff."

"Taeyong is probably in Youngho's bed right now," the bespectacled man drawled. "Should I just not reply?"

"No, you should reply," said Yubin. "You like him, right? Just answer, and ask how he is."

"Okay," he mumbled.

To: ten-out-of-10  
a bit. you?

From: ten-out-of-10  
awful lmao  
but i've got work  
so rip me. text u ltr x

"Well done," Yubin said, reading over Dongyoung's shoulder and patting him on the head. "Now he'll be the first to text, so you can just wait until later."

"Okay," said Dongyoung, the stress of it all causing him to start sweating. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Ugh, I should study today."

"I need to shower," Yubin said with a grimace, "I'm disgusting."

"Same," Taeil muttered.

The red-haired girl headed in the direction of the bathroom, pausing to look back at the short man. "we could shower... together?" she suggested innocently. "Save water?"

Taeil gulped.

"That's it, I'm getting out of this apartment," Dongyoung announced, standing up and reaching for his coat. He tugged a beanie over his still-damp and looked for his scarf. "For several hours. Maybe even years." he was quick to grab his wallet and phone, leaving their apartment as Taeil almost ran after Yubin into the bathroom. "I'm not cleaning the bathroom anymore," Dongyoung said to himself as he walked towards the elevator.

***

"Hey, doyo!" Taeyong yelled as he bounded over to Dongyoung who sat, two days later, in their favourite cafe with a milk tea in front of him.

"Hey, thought you went into hibernation early," Dongyoung remarked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Taeyong's hair had faded to pink, and he already predicted him complaining about it at least twice that day, and the man looked a bit tired compared to his usual self.

"Haha," Taeyong said sarcastically. "I'm getting coffee."

He stood up and Dongyoung was surprised the pink-haired man hadn't tried to get him to buy his drink. But Taeyong was soon back with a hot americano.

"How are you?" the bespectacled man asked carefully.

"Definitely not bitter like this drink," Taeyong muttered. He forced a grin. "I’m fine, Doyo. You? Heard you've been texting a certain Thai man?"

"How did you hear about that?" Dongyoung questioned, blushing. All he and Chittaphon had texted back and forth was a bit of small talk, and Dongyoung had finally remembered a slightly-less drunk (than him, at least) Chittaphon reaching into his pants pocket for his phone and putting his number in.

"Youngho is friends with ten," he said. "Um, anyway..."

"Taeil got a girlfriend," he remarked, and Taeyong looked up in surprise.

"Oh," the pink-haired man said knowingly, "Yubin, right?"

"Yeah, it's been like two weeks since she moved in and, already," said Dongyoung, rolling his eyes.

"That's new, for Moon," said Taeyong.

"Not for you, though," he commented. Taeyong's face fell.

"Yeah, drop 'em as fast as I catch them, apparently," he grumbled.

"Did something happen?" Dongyoung asked, his brain already constructing a theory.

"Doesn't matter."

The cafe door opened, the little bell tinkling overhead, and four men walked into the warm space. But one of them was taller than the christmas tree by the door, and Taeyong shrunk in his seat. Seo Youngho looked over from by the door and his face hardened. Yuta was with them, catching Dongyoung's eye and winking. Jaehyun laid a hand on Youngho's arm as he walked towards a table, but it was Chittaphon that Dongyoung noticed. the small Thai man saw him, smiled brightly and raised a hand in greeting. Dongyoung awkwardly flapped a hand in the air.

"Don't invite them over here," Taeyong hissed, pulling his grey hood up, wanting his hoodie to eat him.

"I wouldn't," Dongyoung said quickly, heart already racing at the mere sight of Chittaphon. "Why? Don't you like Youngho?"

"He doesn't like me right now," Taeyong said, his voice cracking. "Hecause I'm an fucking idiot."

"Hello, Dongyoung," said a smooth voice, and Yuta was smiling at him. "Can I sit here?"

Taeyong exchanged a glance with him, but Dongyoung shrugged. "Uh, sure," he said.

"Hey, Nakamoto," Taeyong said quietly.

"Lee," he greeted as he sat down beside Dongyoung. The three looked over at the table on the other side of the cafe. Youngho, Jaehhyun and Chittaphon were sitting there. The Thai man shot Dongyoung an apologetic look.

"What the fuck happened with Seo?" Yuta asked, brow furrowed.

"Nothing to worry about," said Taeyong. "Um, I have to go." he took his disposable coffee cup and hurried out of the cafe.

"Shit," Youngho muttered.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Chittaphon questioned.

Youngho was conflicted. "Yeah, I probably should."

"You need to apologise for yelling," Jaehyun said sagely. "No one likes to be yelled at after getting fucked, Seo."

"Thank you, Jaehyun," Youngho snapped, face bright red. "Anyway, hopefully he didn't drive here or I'll never get to talk to him."

"Good luck," Chittaphon chirped as Youngho hurried out on his long legs.

"Any idea what happened?" Yuta was asking Dongyoung. He shook his head. "shame, I really thought those two would get together, didn't you?" the Japanese man said, his knee shifting so it touched Dongyoung's. "You alright after the party? I think you drank a lot."

"I'm fine," said Dongyoung, trying to ignore Yuta's hand that touched his. He remembered talking to Yuta more at the party, and dancing with him a bit, but Chittaphon had been very possessive that night (and Yuta had been distracted by a Chinese student who was on the dance program).

"Look at these," Yuta remarked, gracing his fingers over Dongyoung's neck.

Dongyoung regretted not wearing a roll-neck.

"Are they painful?" he continued, moving Dongyoung's scarf to reveal more bruises.

"They're fine," he said, moving back slightly.

"You shouldn't let people do what they want to you, babe," said Yuta, running a hand over Dongyoung's brown hair before letting it fall to the table, "You should have someone who'll take care of you as well."

Chittaphon was staring daggers into Yuta's back.

"Establish your territory," Jaehyun remarked.

"What?" said chittaphon, narrowing his eyes at Yuta's blatant flirting with the handsome brown-haired man he had enjoyed marking the night of the party.

"Make him yours and Yuta will leave him alone," Jaehyun clarified. "That's what Yuta's like. He'll look elsewhere if Dongyoung is taken."

"I barely know him," Chittaphon sighed.

"You might need to hurry up, just saying," jMJaehyun told him.

"Shut up, Jaehyun," he said. But he was going to make sure Youngho sorted out his problems in time for the christmas party he had promised to throw next weekend. Because Taeyong had to be there, so that Dongyoung would be there.

***

"No, no," Dongyoung protested as he wheeled his bike towards his apartment block on friday. "No more parties. I'm giving up drinking."

"You don't have to drink," Taeyong whined, "but I need you to come. Please? I need moral support."

"It's Youngho's party, why would you need moral support?" he scoffed, but he saw Taeyong's pleading expression and relented. "What even happened with you and Youngho, anyway?"

Taeyong sighed as Dongyoung entered the pass code for his apartment.

"We had sex after the party," he admitted.

"Obvious. go on," said Dongyoung, entering his apartment, Taeyong following. Taeil and Yubin were curled up on the sofa, legs tangled together as pride and prejudice (the BBC mini series version - the only version, according to them) played on the TV. "Oh, yeah, they do that now."

"I gathered," said Taeyong. He followed Dongyoung into his bedroom, shaking his head. "Anyway, I made a terrible mistake because I thought Youngho just wanted something casual, or just a one-time thing. You know, like I usually do?"

"Yeah?"

"And I might have said that, and Youngho was upset because he actually... likes me," he finished in a whisper.

"I think someone might like me, too," Dongyoung muttered.

"I mean, we talked on Monday and he said we should take it slow," Taeyong sighed. "I don't know what that means, doyo!"

"That's because you use people and leave them at the drop of a hat, Tae," Dongyoung snapped, looking through his closet for something to wear to Youngho's party.

"I don't think I want to do that anymore," Taeyong sniffed, flopping face-down on Dongyoung's bed. "He's great in bed, but he's the most fucking domestic person ever and he's so sweet and-"

"Just tell him that, Taeyong," Dongyoung said. "It can't hurt for him to know the truth. Huh," he murmured, resting his hands on his hips. "I always thought the person who broke your man-slut cycle would be a girl, but go figure."

Taeyong gave a sarcastic laugh. "Anyway, you're coming with me to the party tomorrow. Yubin and Taeil can come, too."

***

"Guys, we need to go," Taeyong was stressing the next evening, as Yubin was dolling Taeil up again and Dongyoung was getting dressed. He had brought his younger cousin to Dongyoung's apartment, to drop him off at his friend's on the way to Youngho's place. Lee Mark was sitting there playing some game on his phone, completely zoned out as the adults (if they could call themselves that) bustled around him.

"I'm nearly done, okay?" said Yubin.

"Am I hot yet?" Taeil asked, eyes closed as she blended out his eyeshadow.

"I think you're always hot, but yes," she said, setting the brush down. Taeil opened his eyes, smiling at her as she leaned close to him.

"Thanks," he said, leaning up to kiss her. "But you're really good at makeup."

"You're really good at... other things," she said, smirking slightly.

"Don't talk about that here," he mumbled, making her laugh.

"Alright, Dongyoung, where are you? Don't you want to be pretty?" Yubin called.

"I'm here," Dongyoung said, completely lacking any enthusiasm whatsoever.

"Sit down," she ordered, and Taeyong let out a shriek.

"Are you not coming home tonight, hyung?" Mark asked, looking up from his phone.

"What do you mean?" Taeyong asked through his teeth.

"Thought you might stay at Youngho-hyung's again," Mark said innocently. "You text him a lot, and didn't you have a sleepover last weekend?"

Taeyong choked on his own saliva, and Dongyoung snorted "Sleepover my ass."

"Y-yeah, maybe," Taeyong got out.

"That's if things go well," Dongyoung said sagely. "Wait, is Youngho the person you were texting this whole time? I thought he was a fling!"

"You're having a fling with hyung?" mark uttered.

"Go back to your Superstar SM," Taeyong snapped. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have been texting Youngho for a long time. Not that it's any of your business!"

"You're kind of making it our business by dragging us to his party," Dongyoung said, and Taeyong looked hurt.

"Yah, stop arguing," Yubin tutted. "We all just need to listen to some shit Christmas music and drink some wine, okay? Now, let's go."

"Finally," Taeyong groaned, piling them all into the car before heading to Youngho's house, dropping off mark at his friend Jaemin's first.

"if you're staying at Youngho's, who's gonna give us a ride back?" Dongyoung questioned.

"Do you always fucking whine?" Taeyong asked as he stopped the car outside Youngho's house. "You can get a taxi, you peasant."

"Or my driver could take you home," said Yuta, who was standing by the front door, in black skinny jeans and a red velvet bomber jacket. His blond hair was styled back from his forehead and he held a red plastic cup in his hands, greeting each of them as they got out of the car. "Unless you wanted to come back to mine, which makes it easier," he added, making Taeil raise his eyebrows.

"Um, that's fine," Dongyoung said, swallowing. "Is everyone here?"

"It's packed inside," said Yuta, "So I wanted to get some air."

"Well, I should go and say ‘hi’ to everyone," said Dongyoung, moving past him.

"Yikes, he is totally after you," Yubin whispered in his ear as Taeil held on tight to her hand. Taeyong disappeared into the crowd of people in search of Youngho and Dongyoung wanted to stick with the couple until he spotted someone else he knew. But Chittaphon was standing in the kitchen and even though Dongyoung wasn't wearing his glasses tonight, he spotted him immediately. He almost turned and walked in the opposite direction, but Yubin pushed him towards the thai man before she and Taeil conveniently disappeared.

"Great," Dongyoung muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Dongyoung," said Chittaphon, adjusting the black ribbon he wore around his neck. The shorter man's black hair looked soft and fluffy, black liner around his lids and wearing a simple black t-shirt and leather pants, but he looked stunning to Dongyoung.

"Hi, Ten," he mumbled, the shorter beaming at the nickname.

"Can I get you a drink?" he offered, and Dongyoung nodded. Chittaphon returned from the counter with two glasses of white wine, pushing one into Dongyoung's hand. "You look good," he said, glancing up and down Dongyoung's plaid shirt buttoned to the throat, the denim jacket and the black jeans belted at the waist.

"Thanks," Dongyoung said, blushing. "Um, so do you."

Chittaphon smiled. "thanks, dear," he said, resting a hand on Dongyoung's, which was leaning on the counter behind him. "No glasses today?" he added, brushing a stray lock of Dongyoung's brown hair back from his face.

"Oh," Dongyoung said, laughing awkwardly, "My friends told me they ruined the aesthetic. whatever that means."

"You look good without them," Chittaphoncommented, tilting his head to one side. "But they're cute, too. So, are you long-sighted or short-sighted?"

"Uh, short," Dongyoung stammered. "Short-sighted."

"Sh, should I stand closer?" Chittaphonasked, blinking. "Can you see me better?" he moved closer, his thigh touching Dongyoung's.

"Uh..." he gaped, gaining control of his expression. "Uh, yes. That's, um, better. yeah."

Chittaphon gave a small smile, amused. "You study science, don't you?"

"Math," Dongyoung said, swallowing a sip of the wine.

"I can tell," Chittaphoncommented. "You seem really smart."

"Um, you do Psych, right? that's pretty cool," Dongyoung said, aware of how quickly he was gulping down his drink. Chittaphon filled his glasses again as they continued their small-talk.

"Are you single, dear?" the shorter asked, scooting a little closer. Music poured in from the door to the living room, people milling through the kitchen now and then to get more alcohol, and overall the atmosphere was warm and relaxed.

"Uh, y-yeah," Dongyoung said, "Yeah, I am."

"Good to know," said chittaphon. "I had thought otherwise, but that's nice news."

"Why?" he uttered.

"Nakamoto Yuta seems to have taken a liking to you," Chittaphon said with an icy smile. "But if you're not dating him..."

"I'm not interested," Dongyoung blurted.

"Oh," Chittaphon said, surprised. His hand crept up taller’s arm. Dongyoung's heart pounded harder in his chest. "That's interesting."

"He's not my type," said Dongyoung, and he was sure it was the wine talking. Part of his brain was telling him to run away, as fast as he could, but the tipsy part won over.

"What's your type, dear?" Chittaphon asked, running his tongue over his lips. Dongyoung laughed nervously and the thai man bit his lip. "You don't have to answer that," he said. 

"So, what made you choose korea?" Dongyoung asked randomly. "To study, i mean."

"Oh, I'm not sure," Chittaphonsaid with a laugh. "My cousin came here to study last year, and she recommended I try and apply for this university. I'm only here for a year, actually."

"Oh, really?" Dongyoung said, his heart sinking a bit. "Have you, uh, been to the Winter Wonderland yet? it opened last week and Taeil was supposed to go with me but he's been kinda busy..."

"With his new girlfriend?" the shorter asked with a smirk. "Word travels fast," he said in response to Dongyoung's unspoken question. "Is it worth going?"

"Yeah," he replied with enthusiasm, "We go every year. Taeyong is scared of the high rides, though. Ice skating is really fun. You should go if you get the chance."

"Maybe we could go together?" Chittaphon suggested, and Dongyoung's heart swelled at the thought. They continued talking and Dongyoung ended up having a small rant about his younger brother Donghyuck's escapades back home and how much trouble he was managing to get himself into, and Chittaphon told a funny story about his other cousin Yukhei which had them both gasping with laughter.

"I'm so glad classes are finally over," Chittaphon sighed, "The lecturers love setting assignments in the last week."

"Yeah, it sucks," Dongyoung agreed. "Have you got many exams?"

"Yeah, two," Chittaphonsaid with a shrug.

"I've got five," Dongyoung groaned.

"Aw, baby," the shorter cooed, resting his head on Dongyoung's chest. "Are you nervous?" he whispered.

"No?" Dongyoung breathed.

"Would you like to kiss me?" Chittaphon asked, looking up at him. Dongyoung put down his empty glass.

"Yes, please," he whispered, and Chittaphon reached up on his tip-toes to allow their lips to meet. So Dongyoung just forgot everything else, wrapping his arms around the small man and kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

They exchanged small kisses, slowly getting more heated as Dongyoung repeated what had happened the night of the last party, the familiarity of Chittaphon in his arms suddenly making sense as he responded to each touch. Chittaphon slipped his hands under his shirt and Dongyoung gasped into his mouth, but he was soon lifting the shorter up onto the counter, Chittaphon pulling Dongyoung between his legs and keeping his there as his lips travelled to Dongyoung's neck. The bespectacled man held onto chittaphon's thighs as the smaller marked his neck, knowing exactly which parts to put his mouth on to elicit tiny moans from Dongyoung.

"I really like you," Chittaphon whispered onto his skin. He pulled away to look at him, smiling shyly.

Dongyoung was nervous again as Chittaphon looked up at him. The small man caressed his cheek before pressing a kiss to his nose.

"You're really cute," the Thai man said. Dongyoung blinked at him. "Would you like to take me on a date?"

"Okay," Dongyoung said rushedly, before wrapping his arms around chittaphon's waist as the shorter found his lips again.

***

"Shit, girl, look at you," Taeyong said, smirking as Dongyoung rummaged around for something to wear on his date.

Three days had passed and Dongyoung had tried his best not to spam Chittaphon with texts, since he really enjoyed their conversations. And he was trying to trick his brain into thinking the nerves he felt were a positive thing, because Chittaphon seemed genuinely interested in him, too. The Thai man had admitted his weakness to chocolate so Dongyoung had decided he should pick out clothes before heading out to the shops, as his date with Chittaphon was tomorrow. He was nervous, but he (and Taeil, and Yubin) kept telling him that it was normal to be anxious about a first date.

"I can't believe you got a date with Ten," Taeyong said, shaking his head. Dongyoung threw him a look.

Taeyong had dyed his hair dark red again, having complained at how it was going orange instead, but everyone told Taeyong he still looked hot (because he looked hot all the time). He was now preening in Dongyoung's mirror, adjusting a thin silver chain around his neck that matched his silver button down that he wore with skinny jeans. He'd claimed to have invented the look of wearing bobby pins in his hair, and was slotting another one into place behind his ear, keeping his dark orange hair back on one side.

"You're looking very gay, today," Dongyoung drawled, flopping down on his bed with two sweaters in his hands.

"Dongyoung," he emphasised, "Sorry to break it to you, but I have a boyfriend."

"Yw," Dongyoung scoffed, wrinkling his nose. "Gross, I'm not hitting on you! I know you're dating Seo Youngho," he added smugly, "Or should I say standing over him with a whip and handcuffs in the bedroom?"

"Dongyoung!" Taeyong spluttered, cheeks turning pink.

"I heard he likes it," he said innocently, making Taeyong scowl at him.

"I know he likes it," Taeyong sneered, "he spent much of the night of his party tied up and he wasn't exactly complaining."

"Ugh, thanks for that mental image," Dongyoung gagged. "Anyway, which sweater?"

"You're lame," said the orange-haired man. "The blue one. I have a date with Youngho, I'm leaving."

"Have fun," Dongyoung said, and hung up the chosen sweater on the back of his bedroom door before wrapping up to go out.

"Be careful, it's icy," Taeil advised from the sofa, where he and Yubin were snuggled in a blanket with hot chocolates.

"I will," he replied as he grabbed his bike and left the apartment.

"How long do you reckon he'll be out?" Yubin asked quietly. Taeil licked his lips, moving his gaze from the TV to her face.

"Binnie..."

"What?" she asked, putting her mug down on the coffee table and watching as Taeil mirrored her actions.

"Nothing," he said simply, leaning over to kiss her as she pulled him down on top of her.

Dongyoung was cycling, happily oblivious of whatever his housemates were doing (he liked to remain so). He knew the location of the chocolate shop so kept the route in mind as he slowed to stop at a red light. There weren't an awful lot of cars on the road that day, as it was so cold and icy outside, and Dongyoung had felt the icy surface of the road under his bike tyres but it didn't worry him much. He was used to cycling in all weather and while Taeyong might tease him for getting soaked in the rain, at least he didn't have to take the bus "like a peasant".

"Dongyoung!"

The voice startled him as he pedalled off again, and he saw Chittaphon standing on the pavement, bundled in a thick scarf and beanie.

"Hey!" he called, and braked quickly, only to skid on a patch of ice and lose control of the bicycle.

"Dongyoung!" Chittaphon shrieked as the taller swerved, front tyre mounting the pavement and Dongyoung was sent tumbling.

"Ah, fuck," he muttered, the bike wheels spinning uselessly in the air. He pushed the frame of the bicycle off him as Chittaphon ran (and slipped) over to him.

"Are you okay?" he demanded. "God, I shouldn't have laughed the last time I saw you crash your bike. Shit, you're bleeding!"

"I'm fine," the taller insisted, wincing as he moved his legs. He had a gash on his knee, jeans torn and revealing a bloody mess. "This happens all the time. It's not as deep as it looks."

"Can you get up?" Chittaphon asked, wrapping his arms around Dongyoung's slim frame.

"Yeah... fuck, fuck, fuck," he groaned as he got to his feet. "Thanks," he said, smiling and reaching up to adjust his glasses.

"They're cracked," the shorter man said with a wince.

"I've got spares," he sighed, squinting through the right lens, which now had a crack through it.

"Can we still go ice skating tomorrow?" the Thai man asked hesitantly. "I shouldn't have distracted you, I feel like it's my fault you hurt yourself."

Dongyoung smiled, and although his heart raced and hands shook a little from the shock of the fall and the fact that Chittaphon was holding onto him tightly, he was warmed by the small man's concern.

"I'm good to skate tomorrow, don't worry," he said, grinning nervously. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay," Chittaphon said. "Can I help you get home? we could take the bus."

Dongyoung groaned, and the shorter looked at him in concern.

"I'm okay," he said, laughing despite himself, "I just hate taking the bus." Chittaphon burst out in giggles, and it was the cutest thing Dongyoung had ever heard. 

***

"Hey," Chittaphon said as Dongyoung walked up to him the next day. He was standing outside the entrance to the winter wonderland, looking cuter than anything in his beanie, scarf, coat and mittens.

"Hi, ten," Dongyoung replied, hands shaking behind his back as he approached him. "Um, here," he added, producing the gift he had hidden behind him.

"You shouldn't have," Chittaphon cooed, peering inside the gift bag. "These are my favourite! How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," he suggested.

"All I said was I like chocolate," Chittaphon uttered, breaking into a grin. "You're amazing, dear."

Dongyoung blushed. "So, shall we go inside?"

"Let's," the shorter said, slipping his mittened hand into Dongyoung's, and the taller could have sworn his heart melted, and some of the butterflies in his stomach disappeared entirely.

Dongyoung bought a handful of tokens and Chittaphon pulled him towards one of the rides. Screams rang past his ears as the ride swept the passengers up and round, high in the air. The two waited in line as Chittaphon started whining about his cousin Yukhei again.

"He's been sleeping on my floor since he got to Korea, but he's been causing so much trouble," the Thai man huffed. "I didn't say he could come visit so he could flirt with everyone his age!"

Dongyoung chuckled. "Isn't he, like, five?"

"He's seventeen and too confident for his own good," Chittaphon muttered, "He's already claiming to have a boyfriend called Mark but he must be lying."

"Mark?" Dongyoung repeated. "Wait, does your cousin call himself Lucas?" 

"Yeah," Chittaphon said with distaste. "How did you know?"

"Because Taeyong's cousin is Lee Mark," he replied, "And he's apparently made friends with someone called Lucas."

Chittaphon groaned. "I'll tell Yukhei to stop. He's coming back to Thailand with me for Christmas so we'll be out of your hair."

"Yeah... kinda forgot you wouldn't be here at Christmas," Dongyoung mumbled.

Chittaphon reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. Dongyoung tried not to have a heart attack.

"You're adorable," he said, pouting. "Oh, I think it's our turn!"

And Dongyoung had sworn he loved theme park rides, but he was feeling more than a little sick when he stumbled off the ridiculous ride. Chittaphon wrapped his arms around his waist to steady him and lead him over to a bench.

"I thought you like rides?"

"It's Taeyong that gets sick on rides, and Taeil-hyung who's afraid of heights," Dongyoung mumbled into his hands, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It's okay," Chittaphon said, patting his back gently. "Let's get something to drink before thinking about trying any of the others."

So they went to buy some soda and wandered around the little theme park.

"I like those," Dongyoung pointed out when they neared the high swings ride.

"Promise you won't be green in the face when you get off?" Chittaphon teased, and Dongyoung rolled his eyes.

"Promise," he said, and Chittaphon grinned, poking Dongyoung's cheek.

"Okay, let's go on that one."

After a few more of the tamer rides in the park, Chittaphon tugged on Dongyoung's hand with the request to go ice skating. So the two went to book a session, being sent through to put on the rented skates. The shorter was struggling with his laces as he still had his mittens on, so Dongyoung got on his knees in front of him to help. Chittaphon watched him fondly as he tied his laces for him, grabbing onto Dongyoung's hands as he tried to stand up.

"I think I might be shit at ice skating," he said, pulling a face.

"Don't worry," Dongyoung said, feeling the anticipation tingling through his veins. "You can hold onto me."

Chittaphon beamed. "Okay, Mr Expert," he said with a wink. Dongyoung was blushing too much to reply but helped the smaller man get over to the rink, stepping out confidently onto the ice. Chittaphon let out a tiny yelp as Dongyoung pulled him slightly towards the ice. "I'm nervous," he said in a small voice.

"It's okay to be nervous," Dongyoung said, excitement drowning out his usual nerves of being around the thai man. "I've been there, trust me. just take one step at a time."

"Don't let go," Chittaphon told him.

"Of course not," he replied, holding tightly onto both of chittaphon's hands as the Thai man took tiny steps, his feet almost sliding from under him as he got onto the ice. But Dongyoung was like a rock as Chittaphon quivered, trying to find his balance on the ice skates. "You good?" he asked when Chittaphon had stopped shaking.

"Yeah, I think so," he said, and let Dongyoung lead him around the rink slowly. "I want to see you skate," he told him after a few minutes of going round slowly, taking one hand out of Dongyoung's to grab the side of the rink. Dongyoung's face lit up and he nodded, making sure Chittaphon was balanced on the side before skating off, his long legs tracing out big curves on the ice.

Chittaphon watched, impressed, as Dongyoung wove in and out of other skaters. His skates cut the ice with precision and his body moved with grace that Chittaphon wasn't used to seeing. Dongyoung didn't look awkward or self-conscious out on the ice. His bunny smile lit up the whole rink and Chittaphon couldn't help smiling too. He reached out a hand when Dongyoung came skating back to him, which Dongyoung took.

"You're really good," he said, latching onto Dongyoung's other hand as well.

"Thanks," Dongyoung said, pink-cheeked. "It's good stress relief."

"I feel stressed when trying to skate," Chittaphon grumbled, making the taller laugh.

"You seem less nervous now," Dongyoung ventured, biting his lip.

"So do you," Chittaphon said with a smile. "You used to get nervous around me."

"Still do," Dongyoung remarked, but caught Chittaphon's widening grin and pulled him closer, the shorter sliding on the ice and nearly shrieking out loud.

"Don't do that!" he complained, grabbing onto Dongyoung's biceps.

"Why, does it make you nervous?" Dongyoung asked innocently.

"that's very funny, coming from you," he said snidely, but was surprised when Dongyoung was the one to lean down and kiss him in the middle of the ice.

But he kissed back and neither of them were nervous anymore.

the end.


End file.
